1994: The 40 Best Records From Mainstream Alternative's Greatest Year

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37. Various Artists, 'The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'

The soundtrack to The Crow was 1994's most effective gateway drug: Taken to Number One by Stone Temple Pilots' ubiquitous modern rock staple "Big Empty," the soundtrack ripped the flannel off millions of alterna-teens, sealed them in black vinyl and minted a new generation of goths. Pantera, Nine Inch Nails and Rollins Band laid their influences bare, covering late-Seventies/early-Eighties alt-icons like Poison Idea, Joy Division and Suicide, shoving new fans down a pre-blog rabbit hole of discovery. And in the days when albums didn't leak and hunting for B-sides was a sport, The Crow was a treasure trove: Rare one-offs from the Cure, Violent Femmes and Rage Against the Machine; a pre-album look at new music from Helmet; and a quick industrial education via Machines of Loving Grace and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. Tom Mallon